Five Minutes
by Echoing Dreams
Summary: Shane and Reed are attempting to clean their apartment. Shane leaves Reed alone for five minutes, and what happens? Well, this IS Reed. Boyxboy fluff Characters are from CP Coulter's Dalton


Reed and Shane simply didn't want to be separated. After finally getting together in high school, they refused to let anything break them apart. They went to the same college now, but were there for different things. When they'd looked into dorm assignments, they realised they'd be on opposite sides of campus.

That just wouldn't work.

So, despite their young age, they decided to get an apartment in their first year of college. It was surprisingly easy to find one within walking distance of campus.

Shane got a part time job working as a dance instructor at a local studio. While he went to school to later become a teacher, his passion remained dancing, and he intended to get a full time job as a certified instructor at the studio after graduation. His employers had already promised him the head position.

Reed, despite going to school to become a writer for fashion magazines, continued to paint. He and Shane had successfully created a website where he sold his work for quite a bit of money. The website was popular, with numerous ads in his mother's magazine, a few popular websites like Facebook, and even a billboard right in their own city - A surprise gift from the Twins.

They supported themselves great, somehow managing to easily balance school and work without many problems. But of course, there were a few side effects.

One of these side effects was their apartment. Running around all day, back and forth between work, school, shopping and everything else they had to do, things tended to get thrown around at random. The result? An extremely messy apartment.

So, when one of those rare occasions where they both had a day off came around for the first time in months, they set it aside to get their apartment cleaned, and nothing else.

It was going well. They'd succeeded in the living room, and were currently working on cleaning their bedroom. But being them, they kept getting. . . Distracted.

Reed would be focusing on sorting through a pile of clothing when Shane would walk by, trailing a hand casually across Reed's back as he went. Other times, while Shane was leaning over something, Reed would reach over and brush the boy's hair away from his face.

These gentle acts, the casual, innocent touches, were not uncommon. The two had made a habit of sharing them long ago, simply to tell the other that they were still there. Both took great comfort in them.

Though on this particular day, it wasn't quite the same. Usually, when things like that happened, they'd smile and carry on without a problem. Today though, always within seconds of those casual gestures, they'd find themselves in each others arms, lips pressed together before they knew what was happening. These kisses were always sweet, but quick, as one of them would always dance away, determined to get the apartment clean before nightfall.

Eventually, Shane decided he absolutely _needed _a snack. Reed, who was too busy sorting through papers on the dresser, just nodded and replied that he'd keep cleaning.

Shane frowned. Going over, he took the smaller boy into his arms. As Reed tried to wiggle free, he spun him around to see his face. "Can I leave you alone for five minutes without having you hurting yourself?" Shane teased lightly.

Pretending to be highly offended, Reed scowled at the boy he loved. "I think I can manage." he replied testily. Grinning, Shane gave him a quick kiss before disappearing out their bedroom door.

Grumbling about annoying boyfriends, Reed continued with work. Barely a minute later, he fell. Over what, he wasn't exactly sure, but he found himself sitting on the floor, starring numbly at a small cut on his finger.

When Shane returned a few minutes later, a bag of potato chips in one hand, and two bottles of iced tea in the other, he found Reed in that exact same position. The look on Reed's face was comical. It was as if the boy couldn't believe he'd actually _fallen. _The past few years, he'd never been very far from Shane for very long, and the dark haired boy was always there to catch him. Reed was simply stunned.

Shane burst into laugher. Placing his burden down on the recently cleared dresser, he went over and took Reed's hands, gently lifting him to his feet. Gathering the shorter boy into his arms, he pressed a kiss to the tip of Reed's nose. "And this, my love, is exactly why I cannot leave you by yourself." he teased.

Reed finally snapped out of his brief shock, only to give his boyfriend the harshest glare he could manage.

Shane just laughed all the harder. "Remember how we were discussing the possibility of adopting a child in the future? Yeah, I just realised how terrifying the idea of you carrying around a newborn baby is. Maybe we should just get a goat instead."

For a moment, Reed could only blink up at the boy with a blank expression. Then he threw his head back and laughed, eyes glittering with mirth. "Really Shane? A goat?"


End file.
